Generative AI and other emerging technologies present many opportunities, but they are accompanied by unforeseeable risks. Traditional risk management systems are ill-prepared to deal with these new unknown risks. This step-by-step blueprint will help IT leaders and their organizations develop a dynamic, interconnected, and proactive approach to risk management that builds resilience and enables growth in this exponential technology landscape.
Organizations are moving ahead with new technologies – ready or not, IT leaders must act now to enhance their risk capabilities. Ad hoc, manual, and siloed risk management will need to be replaced with an interconnected and dynamic system that integrates IT risk with enterprise risk practices for a holistic and real-time approach.
1. Banish silos in favor of integration.
Risk management in the world of exponential technological change cannot be done in silos. To tackle emergent risks, IT must reach across departmental lines to improve its connection with the broader organization and the vendor ecosystem.
2. Speed is everything.
In this new exponential world, speed has become a key criterion for success. When risks occur, they will hit fast. The organization must have the capabilities in place to respond immediately to the known risks of today and the unknown risks of tomorrow.
3. Recruit AI to fight fire with fire.
Risk from emerging technologies will be nonlinear and unpredictable. In response, risk management must be adaptable and agile. The use of AI and similar emerging technologies to manage, identify, and address convergent risks will be one of the organization’s most important AI use cases.
4. Move quickly, but don’t skip the basics.
To incorporate AI in risk management, you first need to develop your base capabilities. AI-driven risk management can provide many use cases to help augment your practice, but it will require you to develop your risk governance, culture, data, and other risk capabilities to be truly efficient.
Use this framework to build a fit-for-purpose risk management capability development plan
This three-phased blueprint and its supporting tools provide a step-by-step guide to developing fully integrated and dynamic risk practices across the organization, which break down organizational risk management silos and improve the speed of your risk response:
- Evaluate the readiness of your IT and enterprise risk management practices to tackle emergent risks.
- Understand your current state and then determine your target state for the risk capabilities you need, including risk governance, culture, skills, and data.
- Determine what drives organizational value. Use these insights to identify and prioritize your risk initiatives, with a structured workbook to guide you.
- Develop a strategic roadmap for your risk management initiatives. Use our executive communication template to help you communicate your roadmap to key stakeholders to ensure buy-in and alignment.